Scotland Part 2

Inverness and the River Ness

As I headed to the train from Inverness to Glasgow I marvelled at Scotlands forward thinking in transport. So it was a very real surprise that as I headed to the train platform a bus was sitting there waiting.

Apparently they were working on the tracks part of the way so we would spend 1 1/2 hours on a bus and then board a train for another 1 1/2 hours. I guess it does not happen that often but I got to do both bus and train that day. Word to the wise: there are no washrooms on the buses, not even on my 12 hour tour day, so “go” first. We did stop for bathroom breaks on the tour.

That was when the full realization of how complete the travel world is in Scotland. Many people do not drive, it is not necessary. In cities there is subway, bus, and train. Outer areas do not have the subway but the convenience of bus and train is easy.

Train Platform in Glasgow Central Station

I just learned that Glasgow is launching a project in 2026 to see how it works to offer free public transport to people. Over 1,000 people will take part in this project as they study how this could work. The goal is to ease traffic congestion which is still an issue in the city because many people still do drive.

I had a spare day so I went into the train station in Glasgow and said “I’m from Canada and I have one day, where should I go?” He gave me a ticket to Troon.

What a beautiful place. Right on the lower part of Scotland on the Atlantic Ocean in the Firth of Clyde sits the small town of Troon. I walked straight from the train station to the beach, maybe 8 minutes. A meticulous place, wonderful older gorgeous houses, lawns the size of a postage stamp. I wondered if you actually needed a lawn mower or a good set of scissors. There is a ferry there to take you to outer islands. But I did not indulge instead I walked the beach on a long walkway all around a bay.

As soon as I saw the ocean up close and personal it was like I could breathe! The sea air, the rolling waves, oh the wind! It was windy, there were kite surfers enjoying the wind but I found it hard to even stand it was pushing me along.

Troon is a retirement town. There are beautifully built seniors homes looking out over the ocean, each block had services catering to seniors. Dentures, glasses, podiatrist, 2 funeral homes that I could see, banks, coffee shops. It was the only place I thought, I could live here… except I was there on a sunny day and Scotland has too many grey and rainy days for me, plus there was that wind to consider being right on the ocean. The weekends brings visiting relatives to visit and it is a bustling little place, quaint and cute.

Town of Troon

Glasgow was my main home base for 10 days. I indulged in the Hop on/Hop off bus again to get the lay of the land. I used city buses to get around and they were frequent and easy to navigate.

My hotel was in the city center and that was close enough to walk to a lot of places. Famous Buchanan street designed for shopping at exclusive and high end stores. Zara, Prada, Nike and over 80 stores line this exclusive street.

Around this area were numerous other areas, lots of selection for other shopping and of course 2 train stations.

Glasgow has 3 universities plus a school of the arts. There is a lot of activity around the university parts of the city. Around my hotel, everything shut down at the end of business day. Corner stores closed up and the place was deserted by 6pm.

I toured to the town of Stirling via the train and had the official Stirling Castle tour. Learned about more King James’ and all the castle history. I chose to catch a taxi for “up” to the castle, remembering well Edinburgh and the “up”. I walked down after the tour to find Stirling another lovely town before catching the train back to Glasgow.

About the “coos”….

When we were on tour in the Highlands I had my camera out and prepared but we never saw any Highland cows. Too many sheep to count, numerous pheasants, red deer, and some good ole black angus cows. I asked the tour guide why do they market the cows so much if we do not see any. He said it used to be more common to see them but that Highland cows are smaller framed and many farmers switched to black angus to make money on farming. He said you still can see them but not that often, we did not on that tour.

In Glasgow I caught a train to Pollok Country Park on October 20, mine and Brian’s anniversary. What a stunning park. It reminded me of Stanley Park in Vancouver in a way. I kept walking and I could hear them, finally I came to the Pollok family herd. Yes, it was the Highland “coos!”o

They were as amazing as you think! Furry and fluffy and these ones seemed large to me. There were babies and mommas, a couple territorial bulls, who wanted all the scratching. But such delightful creatures of the grass. I spent quite a while visiting the cows before returning to Glasgow which was only 15 minutes by train.

I had thoughts of returning one more time as they grabbed my heart but I only went to visit them once.

The other treat I knew I had to experience was “Afternoon High Tea”. I know I said English Breakfast was the norm and that is what I was served at my afternoon tea but…. I am not talking about just a cup or pot in this case of tea.

Afternoon Tea or High Tea, is an experience. I know you can experience a similar thing in Victoria, BC but the traditional Afternoon Tea is a British tradition dating back to 1840 when the Duchess of Bedford started asking for a “snack” around 4:00. Supper was served much later back then, around 7 or 8pm. She started getting the mini meal and inviting guests to come join her, the trend caught on resulting in Afternoon Tea. The complete ensemble comes with china tea pot, cup and your own 3 tiered rack of delicacies. The bottom rack is the fancy crustless sandwiches of various kinds. The middle rack was the most fluffy, gluten free (as were all the rack) scone I have ever tasted! It came complete with jam and clotted cream. Oh so yum!

The top layer was the dessert selection and I have to admit I could not finish everything on my stand. I was stuffed and satisfied with both the decadent experience and the food, the Duchess was onto something.

I am so very blessed to have been able this take this trip, my goodness it was a longing fulfilled. But you know, as we were flying over those incredible Rockies staring out the window of the plane. It was so great to be home.